


Galahddin

by chocobogoddess



Category: Aladdin (1992), Final Fantasy XV
Genre: F/M, I really don't write anything else OTL, Luna is a BAMF, Nyx is a Romantic, Romance, lunyx, silliness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-04 11:06:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11553906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chocobogoddess/pseuds/chocobogoddess
Summary: **This fic has not been abandoned! Just life stuff getting in the way. More is coming!!**Street-smart Nyx thinks he's saving a defenseless girl on the streets of Insomnia, only to find he's falling for a princess who's wayyyyy out of his league. Good thing he gets a hold of a magic lamp, and the Genie within is willing to play matchmaker...





	1. Insomnia Niiiiiiights

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Redrocketeer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redrocketeer/gifts).



"Dammit, find that overgrown street rat before he gets away!" 

"He's got to be around here somewhere. He can't have gone far!"

"Goddamn punk...when I get my hands on him..."

In a shadowed corner of a marketplace alley, a man remained perfectly still until the voices faded into the hubbub of the bazaar. Only when he couldn't make out the familiar angry rise and fall of the Kingsglaive that patrolled the streets of Insomnia did he let his breath out in a sigh. He loosened the cloth that covered the lower half of his face, pulled it aside to see the tiny black eyes and white whiskers peering back up at him from the folds of the scarf around his neck. His lips quirked to the side, and he carefully offered a hand to climb out onto.

"Guess we get to eat tonight, little guy," he said as the glossy black rat emerged and sniffed the air. "Good job there with the shoelaces. Here," he broke off a piece of the bread from his pocket and pinched it between his fingers so the rat could grab hold of it. "You earned it."

He let the rat eat before tucking it away into his scarf again and pushing away from the wall. He wanted to return to their little attic room before nightfall, and with the sun setting over the tops of the buildings, he knew he didn't have much time to make it across the city. 

Night was when the daemons came.

Even now, the bazaar had begun to pack up at the sound of the evening bell, with shopkeepers hurriedly dropping awnings and putting up wooden barriers around the stalls. The crowd thinned almost at once as everyone remembered it was time to hole up for the night.

With a furtive glance up and down the street--the Kingsglaive were often well-equipped to fight daemons and still remained a threat--he stuck to the shadows and began to make his way home. 

*****

Luck was with him in that he never crossed paths with the Kingsglaive again (save for a near-miss with a pair that strolled, unconcerned, down an empty main avenue) and he was just about to scale the wall of the ruined building that served as his home, when--

Of course, there was always a _when_.

"What is this? Don't you know it's dangerous to be out so late?" A leering drawl told Nyx all he needed to know about the scene unfolding just around the corner from where he clung to the wall. Probably a pretty girl, lost or fearful, coming face to face with one of the unsavory types that haunted the short twilit hours. He sighed.

Time to be a hero.

Except that, when he did turn the corner, preparing to leap down on the offender and save the day, he found that the girl (cloaked, so the 'pretty' was still up for debate) was not cowering in fear or worry. Instead, even under the heavy fabric, he could see a straight spine, well-placed feet, and most interestingly, a trident held confidently in two pale hands.

"Don't _you_ know it's dangerous to challenge someone before you know the risks?" Her voice was clear and calm and refined. Someone with Training, with a capital T.

Nyx couldn't help but let out a low, soft whistle of admiration. From what he'd seen so far, his money was on the girl. The man let himself be drawn in, baited like a fighting bear. No finesse. Sure enough, the leer turned to a scowl, and he drew a battered gun, aiming it at the girl with a ridiculous sideways hold.

"I'll wipe that smirk off your pretty face," the man said, confirming Nyx's earlier assessment, "with my tongue. Little girls should know their place."

He wasn't certain, but Nyx thought that she sighed in tandem with his own at the filthy, yet empty, threat. The hood of her cloak shook with her head. "Gods above and below, just make your move. I have no time for such idiocy."

The man growled and, despite having a ranged weapon, launched himself toward the girl, firing the gun nonetheless. She didn't even bother to duck as it was obvious the bullets wouldn't have hit within ten feet of her. Instead, she whirled the trident with an economy of motion to catch the man's wrist between two of the tines, then twisted it to force the weapon to drop. The man screamed in pain; there was no crack of bone but Nyx would bet it would be useless for at least a week. Stopped in his rampage, the man submitted when she forced him back a step, then another, then down on his knees through the pressure of her weapon on his wrist.

"Now go," she said, voice harsh and derisive, "and think before you accost another woman on the street, you cretin."

Nyx could have applauded; he nearly did before he realized he'd lose his grip on the wall. As he moved to grab the hand hold again, however, something moved in the shadows below. At the same time, he heard raised voices. The shots had been noticed, which meant Kingsglaive would be on their way here in moments.

There was a flicker of something--a glint of metal that caught the little remaining light.

"Shit," said Nyx, already unsheathing the _kukri_ at his back. With the same fluid motion, he threw it at a spot in between the girl and the form in the shadows, and in an instant, he materialized with the hilt in his hand. He lashed out at the newcomer, caught skin; he could tell from the sudden slight drag on the blade and the grunt of pain. He gave them no chance to attack further, pressing his own with a flurry one-handed strikes that kept the assailant on guard.

A much closer shout from the street caused them both to pause; Nyx's opponent cursed in a whisper and melted back into the shadows. Nyx didn't wait for them to reappear, instead whirling to face the girl.

And he stopped for the space of a heartbeat.

She was _ethereal_. In that less-than-one-second he saw arched brows, high cheekbones, a perfectly curved lip, heavy lashes and intelligent eyes.

In that heartbeat, he fell in love.

Then the trident whipped around to face him, and the Kingsglaive rounded the corner, and they were out of time.

"Sorry, gorgeous," he muttered, and flung the _kukri_ as hard as he could toward the roof of a neighboring building. He stepped neatly around the trident and into her personal space, earning an indignant gasp as his hand closed around her waist. "Hang on."

He felt the tug of the knife spinning in space, and they disappeared into a storm of sparks.


	2. Insomnian Daaaaaays (even though it's still night)

When they reappeared in the next moment atop the roof, Nyx didn't stop running, instead sweeping the girl up into his arms. Her trident disappeared--further proof that she was Somebody--and while she automatically clung to his neck for balance, she also hissed angry words that got lost amid the flapping of her cloak and his footsteps on the rooftops.

He only put her down when they reached a place he couldn't jump without the help of the _kukri_ , a space between buildings that stretched across a long drop. Nyx looked over the edge, gauging how far he'd have to toss the knife, when the girl's anger finally caught up to them and she grabbed his arm for his attention.

"Are you even _listening_ to me?" she demanded. Nyx couldn't help but find her beautiful even now, with the flush high in her cheeks noticeable even in the growing darkness. "I said, who in the name of the Six do you think you are?"

"Just a street rat," he replied with a cheeky grin he couldn't help. She made him feel light-headed, even giddy. He had the feeling that if she knew that, though, she'd probably slap him or something. And he'd take it.

Yeah. He was falling _hard_.

However, he said aloud, "Listen. Those were Kingsglaive headed for us. Night's almost here, and we're gonna be daemon dinner if we don't get indoors soon. Between the 'glaives and the daemons, you might want to keep your voice down."

Confusion immediately took precedence over anger. "Why would we be in danger from the Kingsglaive? They are honorable keepers of the peace and protectors of our kingdom."

He looked her up and down, then motioned to himself. "Maybe for someone of such rare breeding as yourself, that's true. But for guys like me?" He scoffed. "They'd sooner haul me off to some dungeon or workhouse. Or worse." That spoiled his good humor for a moment. His father...

A distant roar brought them back to the other danger that threatened them now. "Daemons," she breathed, and for once, she actually did look worried. Not frightened, he noticed, but there was a healthy sort of fear in her eyes.

"Yeah," he replied, and made a decision. He flipped his _kukri_ and put one foot up on the roof wall. Reaching down to her with one hand, he said, "Do you trust me?"

Another roar from closer, and the sounds of combat made her glance over her shoulder, then up at him. Still she hesitated, but then she put her hand in his and nodded. "For now."

He felt his lips quirk in a rueful smile he couldn't stop. Pulling her up to stand beside him, he tugged her close as he had the first time. "Then hold on. We've got a few jumps one after the other, but I promise, I'll keep you safe."

"I shall hold you to that," she said, earning another grin, and he tossed the knife across the abyss.

*****

It was a good thing Nyx knew the rooftops as well as the streets, because he needed to avoid at least two different daemons that appeared out of the air in front of them. They were growing bolder, it seemed, and no longer relegated to emerging from the ground. The first daemon was easy enough to warp around, but the second one--an Iron Giant--actually batted the _kukri_ back at Nyx in midair. It was a one-off strike that went against the odds, but it was enough to cause Nyx to fumble for the chaotically spinning and extremely sharp blade with only one hand free. He caught it, but there was nowhere to warp to.

He flailed once, twice, felt the old panic rise up in him as he and the woman fell together. The sensation brought an unwelcome memory forward, even as the ground rushed up to meet them. He heard Selena's voice as clearly as the day she'd died: _"Brother!"_

The slender waist under his right arm twisted, and the telltale sound of crystal on crystal reached his ears as the trident formed in the woman's hands once more. She violently shifted to the right--toward the daemon--and he realized her plan.

All of this took place within a single second; the next second saw the trident bite deeply into the daemon's back. The sudden stop jarred Nyx's teeth but at least they weren't lying broken on the ground. The woman grunted when his full weight came to bear on her middle, but she held fast to her weapon.

"I think we have differing definitions of the word 'safe,'" she shouted over the daemon's roar. 

"Working on it!" Nyx snapped as he leveraged himself up against the giant's spine to hang even with her. "Can you dispel your trident?" She nodded, bracing against the infuriated monster's flailing as it tried to reach behind itself to dislodge its two tiny gadflies. Nyx adjusted his grip on her, then waited to fling the _kukri_ back up to the next roof, using the giant's spin to lend them some torque.

With relief, he felt the familiar pull of the hilt as it landed in his palm, the giant left confused behind them. Around the woman's hands, the last ghostly crystal shards spun away into nothingness. She fixed him with an annoyed look, pushing him away enough for her to face him.

"What was that?" she demanded.

"An accident," he replied, a bit defensively. "I swear."

In the street below, the Iron Giant bellowed its displeasure, and she cut short her inner battle. "Just...augh. Get us indoors."

 _Yes,_ he thought, though all he said was, "It's just over there. Last jump, okay?"

She glanced at him sidelong, but gamely put her arms around him as before. He tried to keep the gleeful grin off his face as he threw the _kukri_ one more time across to the next roof.

* * * * *

They hurried over the flat expanse of the last roof to where it butted up against Nyx's attic window. He kept watch as his charge crawled through the opening, then followed her in with a practiced roll. Once the windows were shuttered and the lamp was lit, Nyx finally allowed himself to relax. 

"Home sweet home," he said with a grand gesture around him. The room was tiny, square, more of a storage room than anything. But it had four windows that looked out on each side of the building into the streets below. Bolts of striped fabric had been stacked in one corner, and the blankets seemed suspiciously similar in pattern. In the opposite corner, a barrel and a couple of worn cushions made a makeshift table and chairs. The pallet of blankets took up most of the other wall. 

"Here we have the foyer, the sitting room, the _bedroom_ \--" he winked broadly at her, earning a roll of her eyes and an unladylike snort, "--the dining room, and back to the foyer." He sat cross-legged on one of the cushions. "Servant's quarters are downstairs, of course. What do you think?"

She weighed several replies before landing on, "It certainly is...cozy. Do you bring all your damsels here after rescuing them from distress, Hero?"

"Just the pretty ones," he said, before he could stop himself, though she laughed softly, thankfully not offended.

"How noble, indeed! I--" She stopped mid-sentence, eyes wide at something by his shoulder. "What--what is that??"

Nyx looked down to see a very dazed rat clinging to his scarf. "Oh, hey, little guy. Sorry about so many jumps." He cradled the rat in his hands, thumb stroking its tiny head.

"Oh my goodness," she breathed, the words running together, "Is that--is he a pet rat?"

"Yeah. Meet Julius, the best thief I know." He glanced up at her. "You're not afraid of them, are you?"

She scoffed. "Afraid? Of him? Certainly not. He is darling!" Unadulterated delight made her voice higher, though she didn't seem to notice or care. As she cooed at the little rat, the cool nobility dropped away and she appeared to be simply a young woman. And when her eyes went to his, all smiles, Nyx felt his heart stop.

Yep. He wasn't coming back from this in one piece.

She seemed to realize that she'd lost her head for a moment, for she raised her chin and said in a more normal tone, "I, ah, think he is very sweet." In the next moment, however, she laughed aloud again as Julius ran up her arm to her shoulder. She giggled at his tiny paws on her neck. Her hands, questing for the disobedient rodent, knocked her cloak hood back, revealing a head of distinctive golden hair pinned up in braids. 

Nyx stopped breathing again, though for a different reason.

"Shiva's ti--I mean, _by the gods_ ," he said, words coming out strangled. "You're the--"

"Stella," she said quickly. "Just...call me Stella."

He couldn't keep down a snort. "Why that name?"

She looked at him sidelong. "Because it is what I am called?"

He doubted that, but he'd play along. "Fine. 'Stella'." He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall. "So--"

Stella retrieved Julius at last and cupped her hands around him, stroking his head with her thumb as she'd seen Nyx do. "I swear, Hero, if you ask me what a nice girl like me is doing in a place like this, I will push you out the window."

He laughed, but the moment was interrupted by a roar from just outside. Stella froze; her fingers twitched as if ready to summon her trident again.

"Hey," he said softly, "We're safe in here. Might not seem much, but daemons avoid the light. As long as the lamp burns, they'll leave us alone."

"As you say." The sardonic humor fled her, and Nyx found immediately that he missed it.

He cleared his throat. "You can have the bed," he offered. "It's not much, but it'll be more comfortable than the floor."

"Hmm." She studied him for a long few moments, then nodded. She handed Julius off to him and drew her cloak up around her, then settled on the pallet of blankets with one hand under her head. "Goodnight, Hero," she murmured.

"Goodnight, Lady Stella. See you in the morning."

"Hm," was all she said in reply, her thoughts already turned inward to sleep and whatever it was princesses dreamed of.

Because no matter what she called herself, Nyx knew exactly who his guest was: Princess of Tenebrae, and niece to King Regis, Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. Only the most sought-after princess in Lucis, maybe all of Eos.

And she _loved_ his rat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, two chapters in and NO GENIE YET?? I swear we'll get there. In the meantime, have some saucy banter. 
> 
> Thanks as always to Twitchy_Pendulum for the beta help! *smooches*


	3. Insomnian Daaaaaays (for real this time)

Nyx woke with a start. Something was wrong, but he kept still, listening.

There it was again--a thin moan coming from the space he normally slept in. He recalled the circumstances then: he'd saved the Princess, given her his bed, and now she was...making noises he was pretty sure would earn him a noose if anyone ever knew he'd heard them.

Except she moaned once more, and he heard an undercurrent of fear. Her breath hitched; concerned, he sat up silently. Julius was already near her, sniffing the air as he approached. In the dim light of the moon, he could see her hand, curled toward her chest, flexing as if clutching at something. 

In sleep, tiny motions often represent larger ones. If that was the case here, she was fighting something in her nightmares. The fear he'd heard wasn't just a note now--it was the primary emotion fueling her. Her breath came ragged now, and the moans turned to whimpers. Nyx didn't rightly know how to handle this; if he woke her, would she be angry? And really, what call did he even have to presume to interfere?

The decision was taken from him when the moonlight caught the glisten of a tear rolling over the bridge of her nose. There were some things a man just couldn't ignore, and one of them was a crying woman.

"Hey," he began, then adjusted his tone. "Lady Stella, you okay?" He touched her shoulder lightly. If she woke violently in a dream, that trident of hers might come unbidden to her hands. That's all he would need. "My lady?"

Her eyes snapped open, but to his relief, she did _not_ call the trident. Instead she froze, face-to-face with Julius, breathing hard as if from a run. Nyx watched as she composed and steadied herself, her lips pursed with the effort.

Only then did she look at him, with her lovely endless eyes darkened by shadow and highlighted with the remnants of her sleeping tears. For a moment, he thought she might toss some barb at him, some witty yet disdainful remark, but then she propped herself up on one arm and rubbed at her eyes with the other. 

"I was dreaming, wasn't I." It wasn't a question. "What did you hear?"

"Honestly? Not much. Seemed more like a nightmare." He shifted to sit cross-legged on the floor, not touching her, but close enough to. She, too, sat up, leaned against the wall with her eyes closed. Nyx found he missed the weight of her gaze already.

"I am sorry," she said softly, almost too softly to hear, but the room was small and they were not far apart. "I did not mean to interrupt your rest."

He waved it off. "Don't be. I'm a light sleeper. If it wasn't you, it would've been something else."

"Still." He waited for more, but she seemed to be content to study her hands in silence.

"Lady Stella?" He ventured after a bit. She did look up at him then, and part of him wished she hadn't, if only so that he'd never see the depth of pain and sadness that had no business upon her lovely face. It was ridiculous; he barely knew her, indeed, under only the craziest set of circumstances had he been lucky enough to exist in the same sphere as her this night, but he knew at once he would give literally anything to undo whatever had caused her such misery.

Because--and he could tell, having his own past tragedy--he could recognize self-blame in the blameless.

She looked away once more, as if the moment was _too_ honest, _too_ raw, as if she'd given away more than she intended about the inner workings of a princess's mind, but already he was moving forward from where he sat to his hands and knees. Anything to close the distance between them and catch her eye once again.

He gently--oh so gently--raised a hand to tilt her chin toward him. He wanted to show her the same sincerity she inadvertently had revealed to him. It was only fair.

Truth for truth.

"Whatever happened, my Lady," he said, echoing words that had been spoken to him long ago about _his_ experience, "it wasn't your fault."

The words hit her like icy water. He could _feel_ the shock go through her, and the noble mask cracked and fell away. She made no sound save for the soft uneven breaths she took as she stared at him. As he watched, her lower eyelids filled with tears that spilled over without blinking.

When they splashed on her hands, however, the spell broke. She turned away--in anger, he realized, when her next words came to him.

"You presume much." Her voice was low, measured. Even as he looked on, the mask came back together, and when she met his eyes this last time, she was the same cold beauty he'd met in the street just hours before.

Nyx sat back, stunned, perhaps a little chastened. Not _too_ chastened, though. "It's in my nature, my Lady," he replied. No matter what she chose to show him now, he'd already seen what lay beneath her flawless exterior. And perhaps she understood that as well, for there was the barest softening of her eyes, the tiniest relaxation of her shoulders.

She rubbed at her eyes with one delicate hand. "You may go back to sleep, Hero. My dreams will not be troubled again tonight."

"If you say so..."

"I do." She waved him off, scooting down to lie with her back to him, her face to the wall, wrapped in her cloak. He noticed that she did not seem to mind that Julius climbed over her shoulder to nestle in the folds of her hood. His suspicion was confirmed when he saw her fingers reach up to pet the rat in the darkness.

Oddly elated, Nyx crawled back over to his corner and laid down himself, back to the wall, facing her, ready to go to her side if she needed him again.

* * * * *

Nyx woke her at dawn, when it was light enough to send the daemons away but too early for most people to be up and about. He would have been happy to let her sleep in, if for no other reason than to keep her near just a bit longer, but he wanted to get her back to where she belonged before any alarm went up. She might not be wary of the Kingsglaive, but they'd ask pointed questions with their pointed weapons of him.

Best not to be in that position again.

"Stella" batted at his hand when he tried to nudge her shoulder, and Julius crept out to see what disturbed their slumber. Nyx held out his hand for the rat to run up.

"Traitor," he muttered as he settled Julius in his customary spot in his scarf. He shook her shoulder a little harder. "Come on, my Lady," he said almost sing-song. "Rise and shine. We've got to get you home."

She came to and opened her eyes, then looked back at him. He was probably a little closer than she found comfortable, but maybe that would encourage her to move. It seemed to work, for her eyes narrowed. "You are too forward, Hero."

That made him grin. He stood and held out his hand. "I tried being patient," he drawled, "but someone stole my rat and kept asking for 'just a few more minutes'."

The look she sent him was pure disdain, but she relented and reached up to take his hand. He helped her up to her feet and gave her a moment to straighten her clothes, then nodded toward the window they'd come in earlier. 

"We'll need to hurry if we want to get you to the Citadel before anyone knows you're missing," he said.

She lifted her chin. "What makes you think I had to sneak out?"

"Seriously?" he scoffed, raising a brow. "There is no way anyone let a highborn lady out to roam the streets _alone_ at night in the most dangerous city in Lucis. Not even," he held up a hand to forestall her retort, "as talented and skilled a fighter as I know you to be."

His frank admiration made her cheeks redden. "Flatterer."

"I never flatter," he said gallantly, with a bow. "I saw you with that idiot last night. The other one, though--that was another matter." He sobered. "It was a lucky thing I happened by when I did."

"I never saw him," she admitted, "but I heard you fighting someone while my back was turned. I should have thanked you sooner."

"You can thank me by getting back to the Citadel before anyone _else_ finds you out here, my Lady. Please, for the love of the Six, let's go. When you are safely home, then you can talk to whomever handles your security." He used a particular barrel as a step and hoisted himself up to the exit window, then held out his hand for her to follow. But as she climbed over the sill and out onto the roof, she stopped, and his hand fell free. Nyx turned around in surprise.

She stood with her chin tucked down, her hands at her sides. "You seem very determined to return me to the Citadel," she said in her even, quiet tones. "What makes you so sure that I must return there?"

He sighed and walked back to her, standing just inside her personal space enough to look down at her with his arms crossed, forcing her to look up at him instead of through her lashes, which always made thinking difficult. "My Lady," he replied, matching her tone, "am I wrong?"

He could track the rise and fall of her chest, the only outward sign that he'd struck a nerve.   
_Six_ , if this was the reaction he got every time he won a verbal battle with her, he'd give away his _kukris_ and spar only with words from then on.

Nyx did not expect the huff and faint smile she tossed his way with a shake of her head. "You are not wrong, Hero." She gestured past him in the direction of the Insomnian palace. "Very well, I am in your hands once more. Take me home."

* * * * *  
The route back to the Citadel was more straightforward than last night's zig-zagging path around daemons and Kingsglaive patrols. It was also much more beautiful, for as the sun came up over the wasteland beyond the Wall, its light fractured and danced like sparks over the still-sleeping city.

Nyx hurried them as much as he could, but even if the sunrise was familiar to his jaded eye, it was a breathtaking new experience for his charge. She kept trying to stop before every warp jump, her face alight with the shifting, glittering morning sun. Who was he to deny her the pleasure? Besides, her discovery allowed him a few spare moments to watch _her_. 

By the time they reached the shadow of the Citadel, however, the angle of the sun had altered enough to cast its usual clear light through the transparent Wall, and the ordinary people of the city had begun to emerge into the new day. Nyx no longer felt comfortable warping from rooftop to rooftop, so they carefully made their way down a set of steps to the street level after their last jump. As much as he had enjoyed having her company, Nyx felt the strain of time. Any moment now, some servant would discover their lady--their _princess_ \--missing, and all hell would break loose.

To her surprise, he led her past the main gate where Kingsglaive guards stood watch and instead brought her to a small park with an iron fence. "Through here," he said in response to her unspoken question. She went with him gamely, if curiously. "There's a water line that leads into a service tunnel," he explained. "Once we get you through there, it's an easy access to one of the Citadel gardens. If you're found there, it'll look like you just went for an early morning walk."

They stood in the service tunnel, a shadowy place filled with pipes and bundled wires and gauges of all kinds, stretching in either direction into darkness. Above them, a metal grate walkway allowed steam to escape and light to filter down. Every so often, a pair of 'glaives strode overhead, chatting without knowing there were intruders just below their feet.

He felt her sidelong glance before he saw it. "And just how do you know about all this, Hero?" 

The corner of his mouth tugged back before he could stop it. "Leave a man a few secrets, Lady 'Stella'. Just trust me when I tell you--no one else knows it's here."

At the sound of footsteps above them, they both froze in place; Nyx automatically pulled her close and shielded her with his body, his eyes tracking above them until the patrol had passed.

"Ahem." She softly cleared her throat and it reminded him that he was holding her against him.

Like a lover. Oops.

"Apologies," he murmured, though he didn't exactly push her away from him. Quite the opposite, in fact. Now that the danger of discovery was gone, he had the overwhelming urge to cross those last few inches between them as he'd been thinking about since their first wild leap into the night before. 

Her eyelashes fluttered, making delicate shadows on her cheeks, and her lips parted as if in invitation. All he needed to do was to lower his head, brush his own lips against hers--

"Did you hear something?"

"Nah, it's always noisy here. Probably someone working in the access tunnel."

"We'd better check it out, though. Captain'll have our hides if it turns out to be a threat. Or worse, a test."

Both 'glaives shuddered audibly, and their bootsteps came back to where Nyx and the princess were merely a breath apart from what could have been a searing kiss, but now had to only be, "Good luck."

He released her and coiled himself to run, but she caught his sleeve before he could move. "Wait," she whispered. "Take this."

Into his hand she placed one of her earrings. He'd only noted them in passing, a pair of crescent moons with stars resting in the crook of the moon. The one she offered was the waxing moon. She curled his fingers around it. "Show this to the gatekeeper if you ever need help. It will allow you entry and an audience with me."

"I can't--"

"You can, and you must. Now go." She pushed him away from her and spun, running off in the direction he'd given her to the garden. 

Nyx couldn't help the utterly goofy smile her gesture elicited in him. It didn't go away for an hour, either, not even as he made his way back to the hidden entrance in the tiny park, or as he hid in a tree to avoid the patrol, or as he wove through the growing crowd that went about their day in Insomnia. He fastened the earring into his own ear, where it swung pleasantly as a reminder of his beautiful companion.

And it wasn't until much later that evening when Nyx returned to his now-empty little room to find a large pendant _also_ in the shape of the moon, hidden carefully among the shreds of cloth that made up Julius's nest. He recalled the rat running along the princess's shoulders and behind her neck; he must have unfastened it then. It was a trick Nyx had taught him early on, one that got them into more trouble than it was worth. Seemed that he hadn't forgotten it after all.

"You little shit," he said without rancor, holding the pendant up in front of him. "Now we have to return it."

Then he thought about what he'd just said, and like that, the goofy grin was back.

"Yeah," he repeated as the jewel spun lazily back and forth before his eyes, "Now I guess we _have_ to return it."


	4. Interlude: Luna

Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, Most Beloved-in-Exile Oracle Princess of Tenebrae and niece of King Regis of Lucis; Bearer of the Sylleblossom Crown and the Ruby of Eos, rubbed dirt on her cheeks and knelt in the walled garden just moments before her personal Palace escort strode by. She heard the 'glaive's hurried bootsteps pass the garden entry, slow, and return, followed by a sigh of relief.

"Highness," said the woman, a sardonic, wild beauty named Crowe, "is this where you've been?"

Luna glanced over her shoulder as if unconcerned. "I woke rather early," she said. "I thought I might put my hands into the earth for a while."

Crowe's footfalls came closer, stopping beside her as the other woman crouched down. "Are you feeling well, Highness?"

"Of course," said Luna, "I just--"

"Only, you seem a little..." Crowe dared to raise a finger to brush Luna's hair aside as the 'glaive peered into her face, "...flushed."

Squaring her shoulders, Luna sat back on her heels, schooling her features into an affronted mask. "You presume much," she snapped, realizing it was for the second time that morning, and the first time had been to a hero _whose name she still did not know_. 

Which only made her blush harder. Crowe raised a brow.

"You're definitely flushed," she said briskly, rising. "Come, Highness. Perhaps you've been out in the dawn air for too long." Her tone suggested that it was not, in fact, the dawn air that put such color in the princess's cheeks, but even the observant Crowe would be hard-pressed to divine the real reason.

Sighing, Luna let Crowe lead her back to her rooms. The Citadel was vast, with long corridors linking cavernous rooms. If one failed to pay attention, one might end up lost in the entirely wrong wing. But Crowe's sense of direction was impeccable, and they reached Luna's suite without error.

"I'll wait for you here, Highness," Crowe said with a bow and a smirk she failed to hide entirely as she took up a guard position by the door. Luna might have complained that her assigned 'glaive was too irreverent, but she secretly liked Crowe's honesty and sardonic humor. It did not escape her that these were qualities she'd enjoyed in her hero.

Perhaps Luna had a type.

She washed her face and hands, brushed and redid her hair, then dressed, alone, in more appropriate clothing for her station: a white and silver gown with a wide black sash, silver sandals, and an array of jeweled pins and combs to tame her braided hair. All in all, she felt caught between the formality of her Tenebraean upbringing and the fashionable comfort that was the hallmark of Lucis's royal family. 

Thus attired, she emerged from her room to find another Kingsglaive had joined Crowe. This one, she also knew: Libertus, a bearlike man with a gruff manner and a soft heart. She rather liked him almost as much as she liked Crowe. The two had an easy rapport that she found soothing. Trustworthy, even.

Which made her think about the events of the night before. If anyone should know about the possible assassin, it was these two. Perhaps even their captain, a wall of a man who made Luna uneasy, should learn of the attempt on her life. But if she told of that, she would have to admit she'd been out of the palace, and then she'd have to explain how she'd escaped and returned unseen. 

No, Luna would not cause such a furore. However, she kept it in the back of her mind, something she would have to deal with eventually.

Aloud, she said, "Let us go. I would like to enjoy breakfast with His Majesty."

As they walked through the nearly-empty corridors on a route that only the 'glaives knew, Luna noticed something about Libertus's hairstyle. "What do your braids signify, Ser Ostium?"

He started, looked at her, nonplussed. "I--they're to show I'm from Galahd, Highness." When he said the name of his homeland, a flicker of sadness crossed his face. "All the men there wear them. Each're a little different, but the idea's the same."

"I see." Her hero had worn his hair in a similar fashion, though Libertus's braids connected somehow and the Hero's had hung free, dressed in ribbon or beads as well. There was no mistaking, however, that the Hero had also been from Galahd. Galahdians were almost all refugees these days, ever since the Empire had taken control of the land. But there had been a thriving culture until then. It was the same story everywhere. It had been the same for Tenebrae.

Curiouser and curiouser. 

She would have to ask him about the braids when next they met. Not if; she was certain she had read him correctly, that he would take advantage of the gift her earring offered. Perhaps, if all went well, she could offer him a position within her own retinue. Surely that would be preferable to spending his life on the streets. She wondered what he'd look like wearing the Kingsglaive uniform and decided that he would look very fine indeed.

With her thoughts thus pleasantly occupied, she dropped her guard as she crossed one of the massive audience room floors.

"My dear Princess Lunafreya!" A familiar, yet unwelcome, voice cut across her reverie from the other side of the room. She suppressed a hiss of displeasure, though both Crowe and Libertus flanked her more closely as they were approached by the Lucian Chancellor, Ardyn Izunia.

"Grant me strength,"she muttered as he drew near. Aloud, in her most proper tone, she said, "Good morning, Chancellor."

"And good morning to you, fairest lady," he replied with a flourish. "Leave us,"he said to the 'glaives, though Crowe and Libertus only retreated a foot or two to grant a semblance of privacy. Both knew Luna's dislike of the man, and had promised never to leave her alone with him. He seemed to understand that they were going nowhere, so he was forced to speak with an audience. "My sweet Princess, I lament that we have no time together alone. How am I suppposed to woo you?"

"You are not,'' she replied. The very idea of him... _wooing_ her was enough to make her shudder. It disturbed her. "I thought I had made myself clear the last time the subject arose."  
He shrugged, a worldly gesture. "'Faint heart never won fair lady'," he said, though there was a hardness to his eyes, a brittleness to his smile. "Or so they say."

"'They' should mind their own business." Luna made herself keep walking, grateful for the watchful eyes of Crowe and Libertus behind her. "If there is no other more pressing matter, Chancellor, I should like to hasten to my appointment with His Majesty. Good morning."

With that, she lengthened her stride and put some distance in between herself and the odious man. She did not look back, though if she had, perhaps she would have seen his countenance darken from its banal pleasantry to sinister hatred, then back again.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no excuses for this except that once the idea took hold, I was morally compelled to write this. Enjoyyyyyy~~~!


End file.
